Me and I
by EdibleNonsense
Summary: Running a food truck wasn't all it was cracked up to be. [Launch, gen]


"Thanks, come again," she shouted, haphazardly flinging the tightly-bound wrap from where she was standing to the surprised hands of teenager who had ordered the meal and barely caught it in time. With a slightly irritated look, he turned on his heel and hustled out of the way so that the next customer could step up.

It was the middle of the day on a blazing hot afternoon, and the lunch rush at the food truck had been underway for about twenty minutes now. After struggling to deal with the impatient crowd of workers who stopped by for a quick meal and the fact she was the only one doing three things at once (cashiering, taking orders, and making the actual damn meals) Launch's patience was slowly reaching a breaking point. Why the hell had she thought this was a good idea? It was just kind of something she had impulsively decided to commit to, but…

"Do you sell plain hamburgers? Like, with just cheese on them?" _The next person is already talking, shit._ Launch's attention refocused.

"Yeah, sure. I guess." Trying to not glance at the half-opened piles of ingredients slumped against the counter out of sight of the customers who walked up to the window, she nodded. Food codes were not something she was particularly worried about at first, but as time went on, it started to occur to her that there were likely actual rules about things like this. Hard and fast rules that would mean trouble if someone caught her. Unlike other times in past years when she hadn't even tried to pretend like she cared whether what she was doing was legal or not. Well, good thing this old contraption she bought second-hand still had working wheels…

"One of those please, then."

Sighing, she turned around and looked again at what she had. Some old bread rolls, some hamburger buns that were sitting out in the sun for a few hours now, some patties roasting on the grill, still sizzling from time to time. But no cheese slices. _Oh, damn,_ she thought. _Did I seriously run out?_

"Uhh…" Her hands hovered around a bit.

"Any time this century," she heard him mutter underneath his breath, his eyes downcast and focused on the ever-ticking watch on his wrist.

All at once, she felt the seething anger from the past few hours boil over and come out of her mouth.

"Shut the hell up! Are you _kidding_ me? You fu-!"

In the time it had taken her to start yelling, the small crowd had taken notice and she could feel a couple dozen eyes on her. Meanwhile, the man who had requested the meal stood with widened eyes fixed on her, clearly not expecting the outburst.

"Just… here." Slapping it together as fast as she could, she half-pushed, half-tossed the paper boat with a cheeseless hamburger in it onto the ledge outside the window. "It's free."

Shit, shit, shit. Ok, she couldn't keep doing that every single time she ran into this problem, but at least he seemed pleased enough with the response and walked away without making a fuss. The line after him slowly formed once again, as another person stepped up with a hesitant look on her face and quietly stated her order.

It had been hard enough to scrape up the money to buy the truck, but it was another thing to keep her cool while dealing with people who were just as irritated and hungry as she currently was. At least she had thought ahead enough to lock up her various weapons in a trunk in the back of the vehicle, and store the key at her crappy apartment so she wouldn't be tempted to use them in the heat of the moment. It felt… odd to not have them in her pocket, safe inside the shrinking capsule from Capsule Corp, but on the flip side, if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. No more running away, no more stealing, no more giving into the rush of fury that threatened her newly minted promise to be mature every time she felt it. She didn't want to live like that. Not anymore.

"Here," she mumbled, handing the woman the hot dog slathered in relish she ordered a minute before in one hand and pocketing the money she gave her in the other. In a slightly louder voice, she called out to the line. "Next!"

Suddenly, almost like it was on cue, she felt the ground shift under her and almost lost her footing in the metal vehicle. Clumsily grabbing for the counter closest to her, she whipped her head out of the window to look around. The first thing that flashed through her mind was the fact that someone had gotten a bit too irritated at her poor service and decided to take matters into their own hands. The next few seconds answered her inquiry, as she saw the others stumble around and scream in shock. It wasn't just her vehicle. The whole earth was moving turbulently, almost like there was something shaking it from the outer atmosphere. Some sort of voice was saying something, but it was hard to tell exactly where it was coming from.

"What the hell?!" the man from earlier, who had chosen to sit on the bench to the side, yelled out.

Launch's attention was pulled abruptly back to the inside of the truck by the sound of plastic scraping on metal. Whipping her head up just in time to see the basket of spices she stored in the upper racks tumble down, she ducked, doing her best to protect her head out of pure instinct. In an instant, she felt the soft dust of the spices coat her hair and jacket and slip down the back of her shirt, too. Of course she hadn't screwed the lids on completely last time she used them. Of course.

"Damn it," she coughed wearily, wiping her hands all over her curls while kneeling on the cold interior floor. Feeling the anxiety-inducing tickle start up, she tried to cover her nose with a finger to prevent the inevitable, but it was too little, too late.

With a final sharp intake of breath, she sneezed.

For the next few seconds afterwards she could only focus on the noises floating around her. Still dazed and slow, like she had been woken from a deep sleep, Launch brushed the remaining bit of hair back from her face.

"Oh my goodness!" It was always rough when she found herself in these situations. But after a few times, she had gotten used to the chrome inside of the food truck staring back at her when she awoke, knowing that her other self was most likely doing the best she could to make some money. The least she could do was help her out a bit! But right now, she was more worried about what in the world was going on outside.

_Hmm, it seems so loud out there,_ she thought in confusion.

Her sneakers made a squishing noise as she hopped to her feet, unaware of the bread rolls under her shoes. Dusting herself off as quickly as she could, she shuffled towards the door to the commotion outside. All around her, men and women and children and everyone within sight were all raising their arms above their head almost in celebration. No, it wasn't celebration…

_Lend me your energy._

Her heart was filled with a sense of familiarity. She knew that voice! Goku! It had been so long, but she would recognize that determined spirit anywhere. She heard the words within her own mind, but without hesitation, she shot her own arms up, smiling briefly as she felt some sort of ki leave her body. Some people would think it was strange to go along with this, but she was used to following instructions first and learning the reasons why later.

Around her, she noticed the citizens were also feeling mixed emotions. Some were overjoyed, some were confused, and some were just plain nervous. One man in particular seemed to be staring at her strangely, but she didn't recognize him from anywhere. He was standing dumbfounded while his half-eaten hamburger sat on the bench behind him. Deciding the best course of action would be to give a friendly smile, she did just so, and waved one hand at him just for good measure. With a shocked look overshadowing his expression, he blinked a few times. Slowly, he brought his hand down from the raised formation and pointed questioningly at his own hair and then at her.

Perhaps there was something stuck in her hair? Putting one hand up to it, she fluffled it lightly but touched nothing but a small bit of leftover spice from earlier. It was unlikely that was what he meant, since he was looking from so far away.

Deciding to wave again just to make sure he knew she wasn't upset, she was met with a dumbfounded gaze. From where she was standing, she could see his lips mouthing something. Odd! What was this man trying to tell her? Leaning closer, she strained to make out the faint words.

"Weren't you blonde before?"


End file.
